The Australian navy is allegedly in the process of returning up to 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers to their home country, transporting the detainees in secret via a supply ship currently on stand-by off the coast of Vietnam.

The HMAS Choules, which has previously been used to provide offshore accommodation to Manus Island detainees, has been employed by the navy to hand the Vietnamese nationals back to their Communist government in an operation which could cost $2.8 million of tax payers money.

It is understood that the asylum seekers were intercepted earlier in April, and are being returned through the port of Vung Tau, south of Ho Chi Minh City.

The Australian Navy has allegedly returned up to 50 asylum seekers to Vietnam in a secret operation

Fairfax Media reported that a Department of Defence source revealed the HMAS Choules, a navy landing ship, was expected to arrive at Vung Tau on Friday evening or in the early hours of Saturday.

According to Defence figures released in 2012, the $100 million vessel has an average running cost of $201,621 each day, making the two-week return journey to Vietnam a costly voyage of $2.8 million.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

While the Abbott government's border protection policy keeps operating figures secret from the public eye, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in January that 15 asylum boats and 429 asylum seekers had been prevented from entering Australian waters since the launch of Operation Sovereign Borders policy.

Operation Sovereign Borders commenced on the 18th of September in 2013, and soon after the operation was introduced, Mr Abbott claimed that the amount of boats arriving to Australia had decreased by 90%.

The HMAS Choules (pictured) would cost $2.8 million to operate for the two-week return journey to Vietnam

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in January that 15 asylum boats and 429 asylum seekers had been prevented from entering Australian waters

Mr Abbott said the amount of boats arriving had decreased by 90% under Operation Sovereign Borders

In keeping with this, the Federal government made efforts last year to return 157 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers to their home country after the nationals set sail from a refugee camp in Southern India.

The Indian government refused to accept the Tamil's after they had been detained for a month aboard the customs vessel Ocean Protector.

The asylum seekers were eventually transferred to Nauru after spending a short amount of time in Australia.

In March, local Indonesian media reported that an orange lifeboat consistent with the style used by the Australian Navy and Customs to send asylum seekers back to their boats had been located on a beach in Java, reported The West Australian.